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Saturday January 22, 2011Florida Aims for First Win Against LSU in Baton Rouge in 15 Years

Florida
is in the midst of a difficult three-game losing streak, with the last two
decisions coming after the Gators held a double-digit lead during the second
half.

Florida
dropped a heartbreaking 59-58 decision at home to No. 19 Kentucky on Thursday
after erasing a 10-point first-half deficit and taking a 10-point lead with
5:29 remaining. Four days earlier in Athens, the Gators raced out to a big lead
that swelled to 16 points as late as 14:17 against Georgia, but lost 70-64.

Florida
now travels to play LSU on Sunday afternoon with the goal of snapping the skid.
The team will need 40 minutes of effort and focus to earn a win at the Pete
Maravich Assembly Center, a place where the Gators haven’t won in 15 years.

Florida
is 1-6 when playing on an opponent’s home turf this season. The Gators had
dropped their first five on the road before winning the 65-63 thriller at South
Carolina on Jan. 9.

Twelve
of Florida’s 20 games this season have been decided by 10 points or fewer, with
eight being six-point-or-less differences.

Gator
junior newcomer Deana Allen is a native of Houma, La., located just 65
miles from Baton Rouge.

Through
six Southeastern Conference games, Allen is averaging team-bests of 9.7
points and 5.5 rebounds, including her 14 point-13-rebound performance against
Georgia on Jan. 16. She followed with a team-leading 13-point effort versus No.
19 Kentucky on Thursday.

Junior
Jordan Jones has found her long-range shooting touch in six SEC games,
hitting 41.7 percent (10-24) of her attempts.

Azania
Stewart
is Florida’s leading rebounder with 6.3 per game and is a close second with a
51.0 percent field goal mark (Stewart led the SEC in field goal percentage last
year, 61.9%). Her 32 blocked shots is also tops for the Gators. Lanita
Bartley is dishing 3.35 assists and 1.85 steals, while finding her way to
the free throw a team-best 69 times.

Florida
is averaging a respectable 65.2 points per game and no Gators are recording a
double-figure scoring average. Ten different Gators contribute at least 5.0
points per game, with 10 of the 12 reptiles averaging at least 13 minutes of
playing time per contest.

After
dropping their first two SEC contests by close decisions, the Lady Tigers have
won three of their last four games entering Sunday’s outing. LSU dominated the
second half of Thursday’s game against Ole Miss, turning a seven-point halftime
lead into a 78-43 route. The Lady Tigers hit 48.1 percent from the field,
including a blistering 66.7 percent in the second half.

LSU
traditionally features one of the nation’s stingiest defenses and the 2010-11
edition is no different. The squad leads the SEC and ranks 23rd in the country
for scoring defense, limiting foes to just 53.8 points per game. LSU also ranks
No. 16 nationally for turnovers per game (14.7 pg) and No. 24 for field goal
percentage defense (34.9%).

Sophomore
Adrienne Webb is one of the SEC’s top three-point shooters, ranking second for
accuracy (40.3%) and third with 3.6 treys per game (20-52). She leads LSU with
13.6 points per game, followed closely by junior LaSondra Barrett, who
contributes 12.6 points, shooting 40 percent overall and 39.4 percent (13-3)
from long range. Barrett also has 46 assists and 21 steals to her credit. Junior
Taylor Turnbow leads the rebounding effort with 6.4 per game, as LSU holds a
+4.7 margin over their opponents.

LSU
holds a commanding 23-9 all-time lead in the 32-game series versus Florida,
including an 11-3 record in Baton Rouge. Last year’s game was one the Gators
would like to forget, as the Lady Tigers thumped UF 70-30 in the third-most
lopsided outcome between two programs.

The
Lady Tigers have won the last four meetings and 10 of the last 11 against the
Gators, as well as 13 of the previous 15 outings. Over the last 11 games, LSU
has won those 10 games by an average of 22.6 points.

Florida’s
most recent win in the series was the 79-78 stunner on Feb. 16, 2006,
when the unranked Gators shocked the No. 2/3-ranked Lady Tigers, marking the
highest-ranked opponent Florida has ever defeated.

Florida’s
last win against LSU in Baton Rouge was back on Jan. 21, 1996, when the
Gators won the 71-64 decision. Current UF assistant coach Murriel Page was a
sophomore on that Gator squad, while current head coach Amanda Butler was in
her first year as an assistant coach at UF.

FLASH
BACK … to Jan. 21, 1996

Game
18: #22 Florida 71, LSU 64

January
21, 1996 - Baton Rouge, La.

Florida’s
clutch free throw shooting in the game’s final minutes and a stingy defense
keyed the Lady Gators first SEC road win of the season.

Murriel
Page’s put-back with 2:18 remaining and a bucket from the top of the key with
1:44 on the clock gave Florida a five-point lead (63-58) and forced the Tigers
to call a time-out. Talatha Bingham was immediately fouled and connected on a
pair of one-and-one free throws with 1:05 remaining to put UF up by seven.
However, LSU’s Pietra Gay nailed a three-pointer (finishing the game with 24
points) and the Tigers crept within four. Crystal Parker added a pair of free
throws, followed by two from Bingham with 10 seconds remaining and secured the
victory.

Both
teams struggled in the first half, as UF shot 26.5-percent and LSU shot
34.8-percent and the Tigers led 25-23 at the half. The teams combined for 28
turnovers in the game’s opening 20 minutes, but took better care of the ball in
the second frame. Foul trouble also became a concern for the Gators, as Page
and Bingham played just a combined 12 minutes in the first period and totaled
two points. But DeLisha Milton owned the first half, grabbing 11 first-half
rebounds en route to a season-high 16, while adding 18 points. Page finished
with 13 points and Bingham tallied 12.

The
Gator defense took over in the game, holding the SEC’s third-leading scorer,
Elaine Powell, to just seven total points (two in the second half) - 14 below
her average; and forced 26 Tiger turnovers.